EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — It always stings when a season comes to an end. But Kings coach Darryl Sutter may have put it
best when he addressed his team the day after being eliminated from the
playoffs.
“It would have been harder not making the playoffs, right? I
told the players yesterday we played 18 games in the playoffs this year," Sutter said. "There’s (27) other teams that wished they played 18 games.
"Once you set that
bar in terms of, as I’ve said all along, this really has no bearing on anything
other than you’re a really good hockey club and you know how close the league
is. All you have to do is look at the team we just played and the team that
they’re playing. How close the league is."
While the Los Angeles Kings and their players won’t use
injuries as an excuse for falling short in the playoffs, there is no denying
the fact that injuries played a significant role in the team not being able to advance
past Chicago in the conference finals and a berth in the Stanley Cup Final.
“Being able to grind through injuries here and there, with
Stoll and Richards, and guys playing hurt and being injured,” said Dustin
Brown. “I don’t think that’s anything special this time of year, every team is
dealing with it. It’s the teams that find a way to get the job done regardless
of the situation that probably makes me more proud to be a part of this team in
the fashion with which we deal with it.
"I don’t think we complain very much, we
just go about business as normal regardless of the situation, which is probably
one of the more important things with the team identity,” Brown added.
While the concussion that Mike Richards
received in Game 1 of the conference finals that forced him to miss Game 2-4 was no secret, injuries to Brown (knee), Justin Williams (shoulder) and
Robyn Regehr (elbow) were all kept classified.
While Brown’s injury won’t require surgery, the injury could have kept him out of the lineup for an extended period of time if this was the
regular season.
The biggest surprise
came with the announcement by Sutter that defenseman
Regehr will be having surgery, later specified as elbow surgery.
With players wrapping up their exit meetings with the
coaching staff and front office, general manager Lombardi must now focus on retooling
the roster for next season.
At the top of the list will be negotiating a new contract
with defenseman Slava Voynov. Voynov,
who is slated to be a restricted free-agent July 5, is coming off an
outstanding postseason with a franchise-high six playoff goals, including four game-winners
Look for Voynov, who was making just under $800K per
season, to seek a contract in excess of $4 million per year.
The other big issue on the blueline is whether the team can afford veteran Rob Scuderi. While the Kings
would like to keep Scuderi at a salary similar to the two-year, $6 million
deal they gave Regehr, he will likely be offered more money from teams
like his hometown Islanders.
The Kings have been a team that has been built from the
goaltender on out. It may be time for
Dean Lombardi to find some additional help to boost an offense that scored an average of just
over two goals a game in the playoffs, the fewest among any teams that made it
past the first round.
That number was
even smaller if you take into account just their road games where the Kings
scored 14 goals in their nine games away from Staples Center.
Other restricted free agents include, Kyle Clifford, Trevor
Lewis and Jordan Nolan, and defensemen Alec Martinez, Keaton Ellerby, Jake
Muzzin and Jonathan Bernier.
At 24, Bernier deserves the opportunity to be a No. 1
goalie. Look for him to be moved
sometime around the NHL Draft. There had been rumors of a Bernier deal to Philadelphia earlier in the
year for Matt Read. Look for those talks
to resume shortly.
While Brad Richardson is not likely to be brought back, Lombardi appeared to indicate that Dustin Penner could return at the right
price.
One thing Kings fans won’t have to guess on whether this
team is ready to make another run to the Stanley Cup Final. With a solid core that includes Quick,
Kopitar and Doughty the Kings are poised for many runs at Lord Stanley’s Cup.
